Shadow play group El Gamma Penumbra from Tanauan, Batangas, won regional competition Asia’s Got Talent yesterday, May 14, 2015. The show was performed at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and aired on AXN. We’re so proud of them, although we have to admit that we were not at all surprised that their touching and inspiring performances won over judges and the public viewers alike.
We celebrate their win revisiting their AGT journey. Warning: spoilers ahead!
The group first captured hearts with their first performance, an upbeat travel-inspired love story set to music and enacted through silhouettes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpxXRbse5Ck
The act had Anggun hitting her golden buzzer, propelling them right to the semifinals, where their performance, a commentary on armed conflict, earned them the judges’ joint golden buzzer pick, sending them straight to the grand final. They were joined by three other Filipino acts: dance group Junior New System, young pop singer Gwyneth Dorado, and soprano Gerphil Flores.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvyqQt8Drfo
[crp]At the grand final, their environmentally inspired performance set to Vanessa Williams’ rendition of “Colors of the Wind” brought the judges and the audience to their feet and ultimately helped them beat out eight other acts to take the win for the first season of Asia’s Got Talent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ReuOnKSi0s
During the grand finals, Judge Anggun, who gave them their first golden buzzer, told thme “What really made me fall in love with you was the fact that the possibility of the messages that you can put is endless…. [In] our job as entertainers, we are here to entertain people, but if we can raise awareness on subjects that really matter, that makes our job more noble.”
David Foster called their message “beautifully profound,” Melanie C praised their “sheer hard work” and creativity, and Van Ness Wu called it “such a moving performance,” talking about the responsibility of artists to give meaningful messages “because when we say something, people will actually listen” and saying that the group is a great example of that.
In an interview with news program Bandila, a member of the group shared that they plan to use their prize money of $100,000 to help their families and support a local charity, a home for the aged.